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During Wednesday morning’s Bay Area commute, the California Highway Patrol received numerous calls about a mysterious dog that was reported in three locations miles apart along U.S. Highway 101.

The animal, which was described as a small, brownish-white Chihuahua-type dog, was first reported just before 9 a.m. near San Francisco’s Candlestick Park on the freeway. The first caller reported the dog was next to the center divider, heading south. The CHP dispatched a unit to the scene, and traffic was slowed to a near-standstill while the dog loped cheerfully ahead of three lanes of restrained, backed-up traffic.

According to commuter Floyd Stone, who snapped a picture of the elfin animal, it appeared as though the little Chihuahua was a pied piper leading the morning commute to Silicon Valley.

“The Highway Patrol was successful in steering the dog safely to the shoulder, allowing the cars to resume their speed,” said Stone, who gave the dog an apt moniker. “‘Freeway Dog’ seemed happy, content, and quite satisfied in leading the commute today and had a big smile on the side of the road when we passed by.”

CHP Officer Peter Van Eckhardt said animal control officers were called to the area, but after searching for half an hour, they were unable to find the dog.

Then the situation took a strange turn. An hour later, another report had the dog still on the freeway, but almost 25 miles south, seemingly an impossible distance for a dog with such short legs to cover in such little time. There was another sighting of a small dog matching Freeway Dog’s description on Highway 101 at Woodside Road in Redwood City.

Then, an hour after the first report, a third caller had the dog a half-mile farther south at the Marsh Road exit. According to the caller, the driver of a white Mercedes-Benz had pulled over onto the side of the off ramp and was apparently trying to capture the dog.

After that, Van Eckhardt said, there were no more reports.

“The descriptions match, though that is an awfully long distance for a dog to run,” he said. “One hopes a good citizen was able to rescue the dog and it’s now in a safe place.”

Did you see this little dog? Can you help us give this story a happy ending? Let us know in the comments!